Arkansas Basketball Production Report: Transfer Guards Show Out
FAYETTEVILLE — The No. 14 Arkansas Razorbacks had nine different players score points during Saturday's 81-77 overtime victory over No. 3 Purdue in a charity exhibition in front of a sold out Bud Walton Arena crowd.
Redshirt sophomore forward Trevon Brazile scored 15 points and brought down five rebounds, while Temple transfer Khalif Battle added 12 points and five boards of his own in the contest.
The Razorbacks shot just over 50% from the field and 34.8% from three against the Boilermakers. Arkansas forced 20 turnovers and recorded 14 steals as a team, but the Hogs were beat on the boards 42-28 and they had just one offensive rebound in the game.
HawgBeat has a breakdown of stats, the starting five, notable performers, our most valuable player and more...
Box Score
Starting Five
#3 - G El Ellis - GRAD-SR, 6'3", 180 lbs.
I have a feeling I'm going to write this a lot this season, but El Ellis is just a bonafide scorer. It truly is a shame that he was part of such a bad Louisville team last year, because Arkansas could have use him.
Ellis scored 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field. He also added three rebounds, three assists and two turnovers. I'm impressed with his ability to drive the basket and then get the ball back out to the perimeter. His speed sets him apart, as well as his ability to make shots through contact.
#4 - G Davonte Davis - SR, 6'4", 185 lbs.
Foul trouble limited Davis' time in the first half and a collision with big Zach Edey in the second half ended Davis' game. The play looked bad at first, but Musselman clarified that Davis is okay and isn't in concussion protocol.
Saturday wasn't his day, as he scored just two points and added four assists, but Davis is going to be as important as anyone to the Hogs this season.
#12 - G Tramon Mark - JR, 6'6", 185 lbs.
Mark hit easily the biggest shot of the game for the Razorbacks. With the Hogs down 69-66 with just under 30 seconds to play in the game, Mark pulled up from three and drained the shot to tie things up with 22.7 seconds.
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Fellow transfer guard Khalif Battle told me on Sept. 28 that if there were eight seconds on the clock, he's giving the ball to Mark.
"With his size, he’s got the ability to rise over a defender, so because of that that was the reason we put the ball in his hands as a pick-and-roll player," Musselman said. "He got a lot of opportunities to handle in pick-and-roll, as did Devo, as did El Ellis. We have three guys that can really play with the ball in their hands in pick-and-rolls, and it puts a little bit of pressure on the defense not knowing if the small forward, meaning T-Mark, is going to handle it or the point guard is going to handle it."
Mark's 15 points were tied with Brazile for the team high and he added six rebounds, four assists, two blocks and one steal.
#2 - F Trevon Brazile - R-SO, 6'10", 220 lbs.
Brazile earned the start, rightfully so, and things started off well with him winning the tip over 7-foot-4 big man Zach Edey. That sent the tone for his performance of 15 points, five rebounds, one block and three steals.
"He was only as good as anybody in the building today," Musselman said. "I mean, he was awesome. He came to me three times that I can remember and said 'Coach, can I get 30 seconds?' and it was a pretty simple answer: no. But he did, after one no, come back.
"This was great for him. Physically, the injury, he's healed. He's got total medical clearance. I wish he would have played a couple minutes in the Red-White Game, but we wanted to get him another week into his rehab, so to speak. This was great for him because it was a physical game."
At the 16:06 mark in the second half, Brazile fell awkwardly after going up for a rebound and he left the game to get his right leg massaged out on the sideline. What looked scary at first for a player coming off a torn ACL ended up just being a scare for Brazile and the other 19,200+ people in arena.
He ended up coming back into the game shortly after and he played a total of 31 minutes.
#8 - F Chandler Lawson - GRAD-SR, 6'8", 210 lbs.
A transfer from Memphis, Lawson picked up the start and he was tasked with guarding Edey right away. Then, for the second exhibition in a row, Lawson hit Arkansas' first shot from behind the arc.
I'll be the first to admit that I didn't see this type of impact coming from Lawson. Obviously they haven't played a real game yet, but he played great against the preseason No. 3 team and reigning National Player of the Year.
Lawson ended with 10 points, two rebounds, three blocks and three assists.
"He’s as coachable as any player I’ve ever coached," Musselman said of Lawson. "He really wants to please. He’s a great talker in practice, meaning he echoes play calls, he’s talking on defense, he’s in the right position. And then you look at the number of games he has from an experience standpoint of starting, and I thought he was phenomenal.
"Defensively, the blocked shots. Hit a big shot early in the game when we were kind of (wondering) what’s going to happen with us offensively. He’s a great teammate. And like I mentioned, he’s really great for the coaching staff. They all love when he comes to their drill. They love coaching him. He’s got a real positive, upbeat vibe to him."
MVP - Trevon Brazile
Now that he's fully healthy, Brazile is back into his first round form. He's going to be a matchup nightmare for opponents all year, as we all know he has the threat inside, but he also stepped out and hit a pair of threes on Saturday.
"I feel like each day he’s getting his confidence back," Lawson said of Brazile. "I mean just getting back to his old self. I feel like each and every day he’s getting better. He comes in the gym early to work on his game. He’s just getting his swagger back. I feel like we’re preparing him in practice for those big moments in the game."
Other notable performers
#0 - G Khalif Battle - GRAD-SR, 6'5", 185 lbs.
A transfer guard from Temple, Battle was the first player to come off the bench for Arkansas.
Battle had arguably the most impressive sequence of any Hog in the game during the first half. The Temple transfer hit a tough 15-footer and then turned around and stole the ball near mid-court and sank the transition layup to give the Hogs their first lead of the game all by himself.
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Battle finished with 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting and he hit a pair of big threes in the second half. He also added five boards from the guard spot.
"KB did a great job rebounding," Tramon Mark said. "Both halves he played tough. I was watching him while we were playing, he was getting scrappy, he was going 100%, he was really trying to win. That kind of gave me a boost, especially in the second half, so shoutout KB."
#15 - F Makhi Mitchell - 5TH-YR SR, 6'10", 240 lbs.
Mitchell fouled out with 3:24 to play in the second half, but he played 20 minutes. He was 2-of-4 shooting from the field with four points, three rebounds, one block and two steals.
#24 - G Jeremiah Davenport - GRAD-SR, 6'6", 215 lbs.
The Cincinnati transfer played just 11 minutes and he scored five points on 2-of-5 shooting from the field. He had one steal and one turnover in his limited time.
#6 - G Layden Blocker - FR, 6'2", 175 lbs.
If there is one thing about Blocker, it's that he's fearless. The true freshman entered the game against the No. 3 team in the country and immediately went up and scored.
Blocker hit a nice deep two as the clock ran down on a possession at the 13:23 mark in the second half.
#5 - G Joseph Pinion - SO, 6'5", 195 lbs.
Pinion played six minutes and miss the one shot he took from three.